Reporting verbs

Reporting verbs are usually neutral or evaluative and tell the reader more about the stance / position of the author you are citing as evidence to back up your claims.

A. Brown (2018), in a survey of MBA students at one institution, found that nearly a third of students experienced difficulty meeting the deadline for their first assignment.

B. Green (2020) claimed that while some students appear to improve their time management skills with experience, a worrying 20% experience mounting problems as their course progresses, with nearly half of these failing to meet their course requirements for graduation.

C. In a recent study, Black et al (2021) examined the correlation between good time management skills and student satisfaction.

These are all commonly used reporting verbs, but:

• in sentence A the verb ‘found’ suggests to the reader that the author is convinced by the finding / result. 
• in sentence B, however,  the reader senses from the verb ‘claimed’ that the author is merely expressing an opinion.
• in sentence C, the more neutral verb ‘examined’ describes the process of an investigative group study aimed at finding an answer to a question. 

Reporting verbs also vary in strength and tell the reader more about the stance / position of the author you are citing. 

Clarke (2016) argues that reporting verbs have different strengths.

Clarke (2016) asserts that reporting verbs have different strengths.

Although both verbs have the same general meaning; namely believe (as an opinion), the verb ‘argues’ has less strength than the verb ‘asserts’ which is much stronger. Although the first verb is more commonly used, the second verb could be used to indicate that the author believes something to be close to a fact. 

There are three basic reasons for using a reporting verb:  

• To present the aim of the study you are paraphrasing / quoting: 

   i.e. Smith (1999) examines the relationship between diabetes and heart disease. 

• To talk about results that the author you are paraphrasing / quoting has found:  

 i.e. Al-Mawali (2002) shows that deaths per capita in car accidents are higher in developing counties. 

• To give the opinion of the author you are paraphrasing / quoting: 

 i.e.  Marklin (1998) argues that the adoption of just-in-time delivery systems was the decisive factor for Japanese economic success in the 1080’s. 

This table includes some of the most common reporting verbs. Note: * can be used to introduce results or opinions depending on the context/grammar.

Reporting verbs are often followed by a that clause. However, not all verbs follow this pattern. 

• Grey (2016) claims that reporting verbs have different strengths. 
• White (2019) confirms the use of appropriate reporting verbs in academic texts. 
• Gold et al. (2021) report on the frequent misuse of reporting verbs in academic writing. 

It is usually acceptable to use reporting verbs in either the past or present tense, although the present tense is more commonly used as this brings past research into the present and therefore, makes it more current and important. However, there may be special requirements for your course, so please check with your tutor first, and read your assignment brief carefully!